The beauty of the everyday life in the illustrations of Martina Esposito
“Although since childhood I have tried and loved every possible form of art possible(from comic theater, to modern dance, to classical piano) it has always been the figurative arts that have fascinated me the most and those toward which I had a natural predisposition. Drawing is definitely the form of expression that has been with me the longest, but it is not the one I started with. In fact, when I was a child I was very fascinated by the shapes of letters, which I would write down in all directions by filling in sheet after sheet. I enjoyed understanding what made an A symmetrical with respect to the vertical axis alone and how a Z could become an N if rotated appropriately. Now I study Communication Design at the Milan Polytechnic and I must say that I could not have chosen a better path.
Describe your style with 3 adjectives. Natural, balanced and undoubtedly intimate. The style with which I create my drawings does not deviate much from reality and does not intend to do so. My works are not a cold and objective description of the world, but an exaltation of the harmonious balance of opposites that distinguish it, such as hot and cold, light and dark. In color representations I associate dissonant hues, creating an atmosphere full of an almost surreal tension while in black and white drawings I exploit the balance between empty and full, black and white, to return a sense of balance.
With your illustrations what message do you wish to convey? With my drawings I want to invite people to pay attention to and notice more frequently the simple beauty of the things around them. I don’t want to emphasize any particular aspect of the world, much less denounce any particular cultural or social feature of it; I just want to put my sensibility at the service so that others can seek out the wonder that I am surprised by on a daily basis and by which we are constantly surrounded.
Which current/artist has inspired you the most? In terms of style certainly the cartoonist who has influenced me the most is Sergio Toppi. Besides him Cezanne, Angelo Morbelli, the magic realism of Felice Casorati and Edward Hopper. As more contemporary authors I would instead say Andrea Serio and Giordano Poloni.
How much awareness do you have of your talent as an illustrator? As much as my passion for drawing is huge and I definitely have a natural gift, the level of awareness of my talent as an illustrator still needs to grow: in fact, in my opinion, it is not enough to be a skilled drawer: first of all one must have a recognizable and flexible style, and secondly be able to transform a beautiful representation into an effective communication. As a professional I aspire to have vertical identity with respect to various techniques, to understand what is the added value that connects all my illustrations regardless of the different content and forms.
In your creative process what techniques do you prefer? I started out working in watercolor but I have experimented new and different techniques again and again: from pen drawing to etching. Although I am a nostalgic analog lover, today I work a lot in digital (for convenience mainly) and I still find it a very powerful tool.
I have no interest in specializing in a specific practice because I find that each language has its own potential and beauty: my desire is more to learn as many techniques as possible, trying to understand the characteristics of each one and enhance its specificities according to different contexts.
CONTACTS: martiiiesposito@gmail.com